"The Kirigakure ninja from the Land of Water request an audience."
Hearing this, Uzumaki Terunosuke let out a cold, incredulous laugh.
Despite his advanced age and snow-white hair, his presence was still no weaker than that of an elite jōnin. He glared furiously at the arriving ANBU.
"Kirigakure still has the nerve to come see us? Are they courting death?!"
"Immediately relay my order—"
"Father!"
Uzumaki Ryōta's voice cut him off. Feeling the crushing authority in his father's gaze, Ryōta clenched his teeth and continued:
"Father! We're already in the wrong here! Why don't we at least hear what the Land of Water's ninja want to say?!"
"Perhaps… this is all just a misunderstanding?"
"A misunderstanding?!"
Terunosuke pressed a hand to his forehead as memories surged back—half a month ago, a patrol unit from the Land of Whirlpools had encountered a vessel carrying two Kirigakure ninja. By chance, they seized the ship and found aboard it an encrypted scroll supposedly sent by Kirigakure to Konoha.
After decrypting it, the contents were shocking: Konoha and Kirigakure were allegedly planning to join forces to eradicate the Land of Whirlpools, located at the center of the sea.
According to the document, Konoha's goal was absolute control over suitable vessels for jinchūriki.
Kirigakure, on the other hand, wanted the Uzumaki clan's sealing techniques—and claimed they didn't need a single Uzumaki alive.
In other words, one side wanted people to use as containers; the other wanted sealing arts to strengthen their village.
When Ryōta saw this intelligence, he flew into a rage. Worse still, the document stated that that very night an elite force would carry out a lure-and-kill operation against the Land of Whirlpools.
Ryōta didn't tell his father. Acting on his own, he went to the island border region to observe the situation near Konoha's No. 2 offshore outpost.
That night, the Konoha outpost sent out a distress signal requesting support—seemingly confirming the intelligence beyond doubt.
Ryōta began preparing himself mentally to lead the clan in evacuation.
And yet—
It had all been a lie.
The next morning, when Uzumaki forces approached the No. 2 outpost, they found it littered with the corpses of Konoha ninja—and happened to run into a Konoha unit arriving to investigate the scene.
There were no Uzumaki bodies among the dead.
Before any explanation could be given, the enraged Konoha ninja attacked on sight.
The corpses on the island were blown apart, scattered across the sea.
At the suggestion of a young genin, the Uzumaki unit withdrew temporarily, avoiding direct conflict with Konoha ninja blinded by rage. Konoha, too, hesitated to pursue—fearful of being ambushed by a joint Uzumaki–Kirigakure force.
Half a month passed.
Ryōta finally realized that he had been wrong from the very beginning. But by then, it was too late. All he could do was wait for Konoha's retaliation—while remaining on guard against Kirigakure landing forces.
Only today had the former village head, Uzumaki Terunosuke, learned the full truth.
And now, hearing his son suggest leaning toward a distant Land of Water, separated by countless nautical miles, Terunosuke nearly wanted to beat him to death and throw his body at Konoha's gates in apology.
"Father… what I meant was, perhaps we could take refuge under Kirigakure—"
Slap!
Ryōta's left cheek snapped sideways as Terunosuke struck him hard, his face filled with fury and disappointment.
After a long silence, Terunosuke finally spoke:
"The Land of Whirlpools exists only because of our friendship with Konoha."
"If we went to Kirigakure, given our bloody history with them during the First War—"
"We'd merely become lambs waiting for slaughter."
Ryōta's red eyes were still unfocused, stunned. Terunosuke stepped past him and faced the ANBU.
"Let them in."
"We'll hear what the Land of Water's ninja have to say."
"Yes!"
Uzushiogakure lay just outside the walls of Whirlpool City, connected to the city center by a broad avenue.
Uzumaki ninja escorted a squad of Kirigakure shinobi through the area, eventually arriving at the leader's building of Uzushiogakure.
Inside the conference room, the Kirigakure ninja didn't bother to hide their disdain—even toward the former village head, Uzumaki Terunosuke.
"As long as you hand over part of the Uzumaki clan's sealing techniques, Kirigakure will spare you."
"You wouldn't want to face the might of Kirigakure alone, would you?"
The Kirigakure jōnin sneered as he surveyed the silent Uzushiogakure ninja.
"What arrogance."
"Konoha won't stand by and do nothing."
"And besides—this was all your conspiracy!"
"Then where's your proof?"
Terunosuke crossed his arms, a mocking smile on his face.
"Of course we have proof!"
"Your Kirigakure intelligence bears the Third Mizukage's signature and official seal. That alone proves this was your plot to frame Uzushiogakure!"
The Kirigakure jōnin chuckled and ignored the old man's words. He rose to his feet, the other Kirigakure ninja following suit.
"We'll give you one month to consider."
"After that—"
"Do be careful, former leader… Village Head Terunosuke."
Step, step, step—
"Monitor their departure," Terunosuke ordered.
"Yes!"
Once the ANBU vanished, a terrible premonition welled up in Terunosuke's chest. He immediately ordered a Uzumaki jōnin to check the village's intelligence archive.
Minutes later, the jōnin rushed back, his face pale.
"Lord Terunosuke, the encrypted scroll… the scroll—"
"It's gone, isn't it?" Terunosuke said softly, voicing the answer he dreaded.
The jōnin hesitated, then nodded through clenched teeth. "Yes!"
"It must have been taken by that Kirigakure group just now! Let's capture them!"
"They didn't act directly," Terunosuke replied.
"Then… then how—?"
Terunosuke recalled Ryōta's earlier report: shortly after the incident, a genin from a patrol unit had gone missing.
"There's a traitor in the village."
"All raised as orphans… why did it turn out like this here, in the Land of Whirlpools? Why…?"
A ninja village couldn't be sustained by the Uzumaki clan alone.
There had to be layers—an upper tier and a lower tier.
The upper tier was mostly Uzumaki; the lower and middle tiers were largely orphans, civilians, or members of minor families.
The missing youth had been a wandering orphan from the Land of Fire—exceptionally talented, on track to be promoted to chūnin this very year.
And yet… he had been a spy.
On the sea, waves slapped against the Kirigakure ship as the ninja aboard waved mockingly toward the Uzumaki standing on shore.
The ANBU didn't dare to act and could only lead their people back in silence.
Unprovoked action would mean war—and at this critical moment, Uzushiogakure simply didn't have the courage.
More importantly, they lacked the strength. If war broke out and Konoha didn't intervene, annihilation was guaranteed.
The tide rolled steadily as the ship accelerated under Kirigakure's coordination.
Suddenly, a Kirigakure chūnin asked,
"Captain… aren't we worried Konoha will come to Uzushiogakure to verify things?"
"Even if we've reclaimed the fake intelligence—"
"Konoha might still trust the Uzumaki."
"After all… Uzumaki Mito, the jinchūriki, is still alive."
At the bow, the Kirigakure jōnin gave a cold smile.
"A rift already exists."
"As for trust?"
"That depends on whether the families of the dead Konoha ninja will accept it."
Besides, all of this was merely to buy time.
Kirigakure couldn't withstand Konoha's wrath either—so they would need to drag another nation into the mud.
After all, whether it was the Uzumaki clan themselves or their sealing techniques—both were valuable prizes.
Time passed quickly. Bai Xing finished reading the entirety of the Yūhi clan's genjutsu—an integrated system centered around petals and plants, covering both mental restraint and mental assault. It was a remarkably complete genjutsu framework.
"Thanks. Here's the book back."
Yūhi Ryūun flusteredly took the booklet. Seeing Bai Xing—now completely "heartless after reading"—about to leave, she froze for a moment, then stood and called out:
"Hey!"
"What, got something else to give me?" Bai Xing turned around, saw her stunned expression, and smiled.
"Just kidding. Say what you want."
"..."
Those words nearly choked everything Ryūun wanted to say back down her throat.
After taking a deep breath, the girl looked at him seriously and spoke words that seemed almost soundless.
The wind brushed through the grass and flowers in the courtyard, passing between them.
"Thank you for your kindness."
"But… I'm sorry."
Those silent words fell, and her wish shattered completely.
As for feelings like liking someone, Bai Xing wasn't sure how he felt himself. What he knew was that he was still unclear about what he wanted.
People didn't live just to live—they needed dreams, ideals, something to strive for. With power came the need to understand one's own desires.
More importantly, he couldn't string someone along.
"You're meant to inherit the name of the Yūhi clan someday."
"And I'm just a genin."
"Then… can I wait for you? Wait until you become a chūnin—"
Bai Xing: "..."
"Suit yourself."
With that, Bai Xing vanished from before her eyes, reappearing atop the wall of the Yūhi clan estate.
He paused for a moment. Reflected in the girl's red eyes, his figure vanished once more.
Youth—
sometimes, it was nothing more than regret.
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